Pizza pub in Dongjak, Seoul for a wedding invite: Raymond Isu Branch

A pizza-and-beer spot near Isu Station for a wedding invitation meetup

I went to Raymond, supposedly great for pizza and beer around Isu, for a wedding-invitation meetup 🙄 🍕 They sell only 20 whole pizzas a day on weekdays and 30 on weekends, so I was curious.

It stood out even from a distance, starting with the exterior 🇺🇸 Is this America?! Inside, it was quieter and more comfortable than I expected—just the right atmosphere for chatting away, haha.

I met up with a close younger friend almost last-minute the day before to give her a wedding invitation hahaha. I told her to choose between pizza and jokbal (Korean braised pig's trotters), and she chose this place hahaha. Right... we had to eat something delicious....!!!

The banner was so tempting that quite a few people seemed to walk in as they passed by hahaha.

The vintage interior plus clean design made it feel like stepping into a small pizza place on a Manhattan side street in New York... maybe? (I've never been, but sure hahaha.) The lighting was not too bright, and the mood was nicely unhurried.

They had the doors open like an outdoor terrace, and that side was full! You can make a Naver reservation too. We sat quietly inside, and it was perfect. It had turned chilly in the evening, so the outside might have been cold hahaha. As you can see, the chairs were comfortable enough to sit for a long time hahaha. There were also people stopping in alone for pizza and beer after work, probably, haha.

Since I was giving her a wedding invitation, I wanted somewhere delicious where we could talk comfortably rather than a bar that was too dark and loud, and the atmosphere suited us so well!

Ordering cheese pizza and mac and cheese pizza

For the two of us, we ordered one slice each of cheese pizza and mac and cheese pizza, then added assorted sausages and nachos! We successfully resisted the temptation of chicken, haha. We considered four pizza slices, but this ended up being exactly right hahaha. I filmed the menu in a video, so please use that as a reference 🫡

All set!!!! There are six-person tables too, and it seemed to have a pretty good capacity. It looked like a good place for group gatherings such as wedding-invitation meetups or work dinners.

I had Coke Zero, and my friend had beer! There were so many beers that she really took her time choosing.

Vienna Lager / ABV 5.4% / Beer with 28 international beer competition wins / 400ml ₩7,500 / 665ml ₩9,900 / 1000ml ₩13,000 / takeout-only 500ml ₩7,000

She said it was exactly her taste. She hates beer with fruity aromas hahaha.

Cheese pizza ₩6,500 — an extra-large pizza slice with 100% natural mozzarella, cheddar, and Grana Padano cheese / Mac and cheese pizza ₩8,500

Assorted sausages and nachos ₩13,900

Big pizza slices and a nacho side

When the pizza came out, the slices were huge~~ Ordering a whole pizza would have been wild. The pizza was thin, so several slices did not feel too heavy, and they gave us a cutting knife so we could split the pizzas we had each chosen. My friend said the mac and cheese was the best hahaha. There is mac and cheese on the menu too, so we debated it, but went for this in one go.

Even cut in half, it still felt like a full slice hahaha. We said we'd eat more afterward, but couldn't. Is salty pizza just made for pizza and beer? I enjoyed it perfectly well with Coke hahaha.

The assorted sausages and nachos we ordered alongside were just right as a pizza side! The sausages had a nice snappy bite, and the crisp nachos were easy to pick at while we talked, making them excellent for nibbling through a long wedding-invitation catch-up hahaha.

The pickles here were really delicious to me, haha. Korean-style ones.

Nachos with cheese sauce (hot) 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 Always love it. We put it right in the middle and dipped the pizza in the cheese sauce too hahaha.

We brought over hot sauce too, added garlic sauce, and dipped everything generously, apparently hahaha.

Two years of catching up flew by. We have already known each other for 10 years. These days, I am seeing my dear younger friend who always welcomes me warmly no matter when we meet, and the people in my life who sincerely congratulate her marriage. It feels like getting a midlife report card... Several people have already said they might cry 🥹

Vienna Lager without fruity notes

My friend loves beer, so she chose the Vienna Lager from the craft beer lineup! We picked something as normal as possible without fruity aromas; after one sip, it passed—she was happy, saying the beer was delicious hahaha. She said its nutty, smooth malt aroma came through more than bitterness and paired well with pizza!

She ended up having one large glass first! Later, she added a medium size of the same Vienna Lager, for two glasses total ✌🏻 She said she was too full to drink any more hahaha. Ordering the same beer twice from such a varied lineup definitely means it was excellent 😎

As we ate, I started craving something like tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), and they had it on the menu hahaha. Just so you know!!!!!!

All the pizza and beer are available for takeout too!!!! The interior and atmosphere are not overly flashy or intimidating, so it is an easy, comfortable place to visit. The limited-quantity pizza slices were great, and I felt proud that my friend was so satisfied with her beer. It is seriously close to Isu Station. If you want a pizza pub with a relaxed atmosphere, an easy pizza-and-beer stop, or a place where you can have pizza, chicken, and tteokbokki all at once, it is worth dropping by!